Speaker Ph.D. Student, Radu Cimpean
(University of Groningen, Netherlands)
Date｜Time Aug. 18, Mon, 2025｜11:00-12:00
Place Room 316-1, Building 133
Abstract
We study a piecewise affine (PWA) model of the spiking of neurons located in a subsystem of the olfactory system. Our long-term goal is to understand the stability properties of a network of such neurons and as a first step towards this goal we consider the simplest case of the interaction between two types of neurons (excitatory and inhibitory). Due to the discontinuous nature of the PWA model, it is challenging to find a continuous Lyapunov function, we therefore utilize a recently proposed constructive method to find a discontinuous Lyapunov function. In order to utilize this method, it is necessary to define a suitable polyhedral partition of the state-space and carefully investigate the dynamics at the boundaries. Given the complexities involved with adding a third neuron, we propose extending the analysis by employing tools from the input-to-state (ISS) stability framework.
Biography
Radu Cimpean received a BSc degree in Engineering and Management in 2015, a MSc in Mathematics and an Master in Business Administration in 2017 at Transilvania University of Brasov and a MSc in Mathematics and Complex Dynamical Systems at the University of Groningen in 2021.
Currently, he is a PhD student, part of the Systems, Control and Optimization (SCO) group, of the Bernoulli Institute at the University of Groningen, under the supervision of prof.dr. Stephan Trenn and dr. Alef Sterk. His research activity aims at analyzing the stability properties of an inhibitory-excitatory neural network from a specific subsystem of the olfactory system, called the olfactory bulb) using tools stemming from Lyapunov stability, input-to-state stability, piecewise affine systems.
His research interests include systems biology, ODE theory, mathematical modelling and dynamical systems.
He is one of the finalists for the Best Junior Award for presentation at the Benelux Meeting 2025 for the Systems and Control research communities from Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands.
